A Louisville woman was sentenced to 13 years in prison for stealing $1 million from her employer over a nine-year period.

Jennifer Carmichael, 37, previously pleaded guilty to embezzling from Louisville-based Mercer Trucking, where she worked as a clerk.

Advertisement

In addition to prison time, Carmichael will also have to pay $25,000 in restitution and forfeit her car. She doesnt have to repay the full amount because of insurance.

Carmichael, her attorney and her mother asked that she be put on probation and serve no prison time.

I am truly sorry. I'm sorry to Mercer, I'm sorry to all the people there that trusted me that grew to love me and I them, Carmichael said. Your honor, I beg you to have compassion and mercy on me.

Carmichael's mother took the stand, too. Her testimony centered around Carmichael's two children, one of whom has asperger's syndrome.

Jennifer is his life. Jennifer is his structure, said Donna Morrison, Carmichaels mother.

Her former employer asked that Carmichael be sentenced to the maximum amount of time in prison.

Carmichael's former bosses and coworkers heard the apology themselves. Roughly 20 of them packed one side of the courtroom.

Over a nine-year period, she stole more than $1 million from Mercer Transportation.

Carmichael wrote hundreds of checks to herself ranging from small amounts to excess of $10,000 from December 2001 to October 2010 when the company caught on.

Carmichael not only bit the hand that fed her, but also ripped out our hearts as well, said Jenny Howard Hill with Mercer Transportation.

The commonwealth also countered probation should be out of the question.

You cant steal a million dollars from your employer and then not go to jail. This is one of the most egregious embezzlement cases in Jefferson County history, assistant commonwealth's attorney John Balenovich said.

In the end, that argument resonated.

This was serious. And as a result of that, I'm going to order you to serve the time, Judge Irv Maze said.